Dear Paul Howell MP,
Before the pandemic hit, a quarter of County Durham children were living in poverty, the majority of which were from working households. This has only worsened since the Covid pandemic with jobs being lost and workers furloughed on 80% of their normal wage.
The Legatum Institute, headed by Tory Peer Philippa Stroud, reported back to your government in November, saying nearly a million people, and 120,000 more children, have been forced into poverty because of the pandemic, and we now have a total of 15 million people living in poverty.
To negate some of the pain, your government raised U.C. levels by £20, and with so many more people having to depend on this to top up their wages, this was a very welcome and essential boost to benefit levels which are already are set at destitution levels.
Now your government seems intent on withdrawing this small rise which will mean almost 130,000 people stand to lose out in our region, and that means up to £2.6 million a week will be removed from the local economy at a time when people need more support, not less, and with people having less to spend in their area, local businesses will suffer at a time when they will be struggling to get back on their feet.
The cut makes no economic or moral sense.
This is not the time that children should be going hungry and a quarter of our citizens living in poverty, it is not the time to take money out of the pockets of people, many of whom are key workers being paid below a living wage, and who will be spending their income to keep local business afloat when many are facing closure putting more jobs at risk.
As our MP you have the opportunity to take this up with government for us, on behalf of the thousands of people in our constituency who will be impacted by this, causing them more insecurity, worry and misery in this already stressful time.
Cllr Kathy Beetham
